Cesar Martinez of Danbury, a volunteer with Tails of Courage, spends time with Lorenzo, left, and Braulio, two dogs rescued from Puerto Rico , Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. Tails of Courage on Smith Street in Danbury has taken in close to 60 dogs fleeing Erma and Maria this storm season. less

Cesar Martinez of Danbury, a volunteer with Tails of Courage, spends time with Lorenzo, left, and Braulio, two dogs rescued from Puerto Rico , Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. Tails of Courage on Smith Street in Danbury ... more

Melanie Dzamko, of New Milford, holds Ashley, a German Shepherd puppy rescued from Puerto Rico. Dzamko is an adoption and transport co-ordinator for Tails of Courage. Tails of Courage, on Smith Street in Danbury has taken in close to 60 dogs fleeing Erma and Maria this storm season. Photo Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. less

Melanie Dzamko, of New Milford, holds Ashley, a German Shepherd puppy rescued from Puerto Rico. Dzamko is an adoption and transport co-ordinator for Tails of Courage. Tails of Courage, on Smith Street in ... more

Cesar Martinez of Danbury, a volunteer with Tails of Courage, spends time with Lorenzo, left, and Braulio, two dogs rescued from Puerto Rico , Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. Tails of Courage on Smith Street in Danbury has taken in close to 60 dogs fleeing Erma and Maria this storm season. less

Cesar Martinez of Danbury, a volunteer with Tails of Courage, spends time with Lorenzo, left, and Braulio, two dogs rescued from Puerto Rico , Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. Tails of Courage on Smith Street in Danbury ... more

Cesar Martinez of Danbury, a volunteer with Tails of Courage, spends time with Lorenzo, left, and Braulio, two dogs rescued from Puerto Rico , Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. Tails of Courage on Smith Street in Danbury has taken in close to 60 dogs fleeing Erma and Maria this storm season. less

Cesar Martinez of Danbury, a volunteer with Tails of Courage, spends time with Lorenzo, left, and Braulio, two dogs rescued from Puerto Rico , Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. Tails of Courage on Smith Street in Danbury ... more

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, left, pets Lorenzo, a great dane, at Tails of Courage in Danbury, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. Right is Cesar Martinez, a volunteer at Tails of Courage. The dogs were rescued from Puerto Rico. less

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, left, pets Lorenzo, a great dane, at Tails of Courage in Danbury, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. Right is Cesar Martinez, a volunteer at Tails of Courage. The dogs were rescued from Puerto ... more

DANBURY — Even before Hurricane Maria destroyed Lorenzo and Braulio’s home in Caguas, Puerto Rico, their future was uncertain.

The dogs were given up for adoption in September by an owner who knew it would be impossible to care for them on an island soon to be ravaged by the massive storm.

But on Sunday, the two inseparable pups took a step toward a new start when they arrived in Danbury. They are awaiting adoption at Tails of Courage, a small shelter on Smith Street turned haven for dogs displaced by hurricanes.

Lorenzo, a 2-year-old Great Dane, and Braulio, a 1-year-old mutt, are just two of the nearly 60 dogs Tails of Courage has taken in because of hurricanes. The nonprofit has received dogs displaced by hurricanes Maria and Irma, which devastated islands in the Caribbean, and houses dogs from shelters across the South and the Danbury area.

Most dogs are adopted within weeks, said Melanie Dzamko, the organization’s adoption coordinator. Some puppies are so young they likely were born in shelters.

Lorenzo and Braulio were among 18 dogs from Puerto Rico that came to the mainland late last week.

Along with the others, the two were shepherded from the island to Miami, where they boarded a chartered jet to New Jersey and then got into a truck to Danbury.

Most of the dogs were given up for adoption soon before Maria hit. They arrived in Danbury through the Sato Project, a nonprofit dedicated to rescuing dogs from Puerto Rico.

On the tarmac in New Jersey, the Puerto Rican pups faced the cold northeastern fall for the first time.

The Danbury shelter took in 10 dogs after Hurricane Irma with the the help of Georgina Bloomberg — daughter of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg — who flew them to the Northeast from Miami, said Tails founder Kristan Exner. Bloomberg has used a private jet to get abandoned dogs out of Miami the past few months, Exner said.

Tails sees some 1,000 dogs come through its doors every year, Dzamko said. Many come from southern states where spaying and neutering is less common and shelters often kill dogs after prolonged stays.

Exner, who ran the organization from her Norwalk home, said Tails of Courage has been in Danbury since 2014.

Some of its adoptions have made headlines, like the time Mayor Mark Boughton joked he voted for his dog, Ellie Mae, a former Tails resident, in the 2016 presidential election. The statement caused a stir when some people took him seriously.

Boughton visited Danbury’s hurricane survivors Tuesday afternoon to see how they were faring.

He took a liking to Lorenzo, but said he couldn’t adopt him. “It wouldn’t be fair,” the mayor said.

He did, however, tweet a photograph of Lorenzo to his 34,539 Twitter followers, asking someone to come adopt him.

“This is Lorenzo,” Boughton wrote. “Straight in from Puerto Rico. His house was destroyed in the hurricane. Needs a good home.”

All the animals are available for adoption at Tails of Courage, 39 Smith St. But, for those interested in Lorenzo, he won’t go without his buddy.